Friday, June 10, 2011

ARCHES

First week of Zack and Belle being out of school and the last week of the twins being off track...we loaded into the truck with the camper in tow and drove down to the southeastern Utah. Steve found us a great site to camp outside of Moab named Onion Creek. It was a beautiful area, but one of the best parts was the small stream that flowed behind our site. As soon as we arrived all the kids were in the water building dams (or darns as Katie called them because she did not want to use the "swear" word). Then once that began to get old they changed into their swimsuits and had mud fights. So much laughing, chasing and mudslinging...so much fun to watch my kiddos enjoy each other. The wind was blowing pretty hard that day which prevented us from cooking our dinner over the fire pit. So Steve made our yummy fajita dinner on the stove in the camper and we ate inside too. Luckily the wind died down by sunset and we were able to put up the kids tent, so they would have a place to sleep.

The next day we had yummy sausage and egg muffin and then we drove back into town to start our day in Arches National Park. We decided to make the Delicate Arch hike our first one of the day. It was a little more difficult than both Steve and I had anticipated, but it was well worth it when we got there. The last time (7 years ago) we were there we only went to the viewpoint, so it was neat to actually stand under that iconic arch and get our pictures taken. I did get a nervous with the slant of the ground, but luckily I had Steve to hold my hand and reassure me that I would be ok. We made our return hike back to the truck and played silly “games”. We had a Spanish speaking family behind us and could hear parts of their conversations. So Steve and I would identify a word or two that we recognized and then try to come up with what they could be talking about, the sillier the better.

We found a pleasant spot to have a picnic lunch before going to Double Arch and The Windows. Lots of laughing and giggling went on as we walked from one arch to another. We did a lot of people watching, even made a contest out of trying to spot the tourist that was wear “dress shoes” on the hiking trail. We were disappointed to find most people had proper foot wear on, made it difficult to play our “game”. After visiting the Windows, Steve and the kids ran ahead of me (I am pretty slow when I am on the trail) and just when I started to feel deserted, they popped out from behind a bush, it was actually quite cute. I love my family for the silly things they do.

We even took a moment to recreate one of my favorite pictures from our first trip to Arches. Katie was 4 years old and was so tired from the hiking when we got to the fork on the trail and we were deciding which side to walk down, she laid her head down on Steve's backpack and fell asleep. Se was just as cute at 11 as she was seven years before. Katie wasn't the only one to be “cute”. Becky had decided to THUMB (a G rated version of giving the finger) the people we drove by. Initially it was just suppose to be the rafters, but quickly became anyone we drove by. She was so funny and enjoyed it so much. It cracked me up.

Steve and I even got in on the silliness. Not that it is really silly, but our song: “Then You Can Tell Me Good-Bye” by Neal McCoy came on and we do as we always do, Steve found a spot to pull over and we got out of the truck and began to dance right there in Arches National Park. There were a couple of people that stopped and watched us. I like to think that they thought it was cute and hopefully not that we were crazy. My cute kids even got out my camera and took a couple of pictures. I love the little things we do.

Before leaving the Moab area on Wednesday morning we went into the park one final time and did part of the Devil's Garden hike. There are a few different arches along the trail. We were pleasantly surprised by the one named Pint Tree Arch. It had a great view of the park, the arch itself was quite pretty with the shrubs and trees that were growing around the base. We then walked to Landscape Arch (which our family refers to as Becky's Arch) and took some pictures around there. Steve and the kids left me in the shade to play with my camera and they continued on to Navajo Arch. We were there early enough to beat most of the heat. We went back to our truck and left Arches.

Before beginning the five hour drive back to South Jordan we stopped into Zax Pizza in Moab (a MUST for anyone stopping into Moab) Their beer and cheese soup is delicious and their pizza bar offers a variety of pizza to choose from. If you don't see something you like, tell them and they'll make it for you. I love that the kids are growing up sometimes. There were no Gameboys or videos playing for the entire drive and we just talked, sang and laughed and the whole trip was FUN. It was a great mini vacation. So grateful for all the planning Steve puts into these trips. I am not much of a camper and hiker, but he always makes sure I am comfortable and am able to enjoy the experience, which I end up doing. Looking forward to the next adventure the Webers go on....Stay tuned!!